Just Between Friends of North Houston to Hold Area's Largest Children and Maternity Consignment Sale

Just Between Friends North Houston–the area’s largest Children’s and Maternity consignment sale featuring shopping for children’s clothing, baby equipment, and toys will hold their semi-annual fall/winter sale October 25–October 28, 2012.

BENEFICIARIES: A portion of proceeds benefits Spaulding for Children Foster Care and Cypress Assistance Ministries

Houston, TX – October 3, 2012 – Just Between Friends (JBF) North Houston, Texas’ largest children’s and maternity consignment sales event is hosting their eleventh semi-annual sale. Well known for quality merchandise at rock bottom pricing, the one-stop, semi-annual shopping sales event has become vital to Houston families as the economy and unemployment levels remain uncertain. The sales have assisted thousands of Houstonians as cost-conscious shoppers work to stretch declining budgets. Even now with economic indicators on the rise the popular sales event is targeted to hold one of the top sales in the region. With the average shopper saving between 50% to 90% off of retail pricing, Just Between Friends is a concept which is thriving.

Held at the Willowbrook AMC Theater Plaza in Houston, October 25-28 2012, the semi-annual sale features hundreds of thousands of items that includes name-brand and boutique fall and winter children’s and maternity apparel; Halloween costumes and Holiday attire; baby equipment, electronics, and toys. A portion of the sale’s proceeds as well as unsold items are donated to local charities, Spaulding for Children Foster Care and Cypress Assistance Ministries.

Started in a Houston area church in 2007 as the first and only children’s consignment sale in the city, Just Between Friends North Houston has increased to a colossal sale requiring over 30,000 square feet of space. In their eleventh season, the upcoming event is expecting record attendance.

“After eleven sales, we are both humbled and amazed by our continued growth,” stated Jennifer Liebl, Owner, Just Between Friends of North Houston. “To have double digit growth each sale season makes us the envy of retailers everywhere, especially when you consider the economic challenges of the past few years.”

“People ask us all the time how we are able to continue growing at our current pace. Honestly, I think it is several things,” said Liebl. “Certainly the economy has had a tremendous impact on our expansion. We are one of the few business types that have positively thrived in a downward market. Additionally, more than ever, people feel good about repurposing their items. In addition to people trying to stretch their budgets, shopping consignment has gone main stream! People see it as a way to not only further their dollars, but also purchase children’s items that otherwise could end up in landfill. Consignment shopping is not only fun, it’s a responsible thing to do,” remarked Liebl.

“One of the things we are particularly proud of at JBF North Houston is our strong partnerships with area charities,” Liebl stated. A portion of our proceeds as well as surplus merchandise from our sales benefit our partner charities, Spaulding for Children Foster Care and Cypress Assistance Ministries. Our consignors love that when they consign their gently used clothing and toys they are not only making money, they are also helping to better our community through these worthwhile organizations.

“A savings of 50-90% off retail is enough to make a huge difference in a family budget whether our shoppers are moms-to-be, foster parents, grandparents, or single dads. It is truly is a sale where everyone wins - our consignors as they sell their items, our shoppers as they enjoy remarkable savings, and our community as our partner charities receive a portion of our proceeds and surplus merchandise,” she said.

About Just Between FriendsIn 1997, Just Between Friends was created in a living room in Tulsa, Oklahoma when Shannon Wilburn, a mother of two young children, and her friend Daven Tackett hosted a sale with 17 friends as consignors and had gross sales of $2000. The sales caught on with families and grew so in 2003, they formed Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc. Wilburn is now sole owner of Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc., which has 124 franchises in 24 states. The company projects that gross sales in 2012 will top 20 million dollars. Just Between Friends has been on the Inc. Magazine 5000 list of fastest growing companies the past four years and was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 500 Franchises. In 2012, Just Between Friends was one of only 25 companies to receive the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Blue Ribbon Award. Just Between Friends Franchise Systems Inc. also received a “Franchisee Satisfaction Award” and was named in the Top 50 franchises by “Franchise Business Review”. In 2010, Wilburn was named the Small Business Administration’s “Women in Business Champion” for Tulsa and was part of the Tulsa Business Journal’s 40 under 40. JBF has been featured on numerous national television shows including CBS Early Show, ABC News, Good Morning America, CNN, Headline News, Fox News, Inside Edition and CNBC’s The Big Idea. They have also been featured in many top markets including Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco and Philadelphia as well popular websites www.yahoo.com, www.sheknows.com and Disney website www.family.com.